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Mifflin family papers, 1689-1877

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Summary

Creator:
Mifflin family
Abstract:
In 1679, John Mifflin of Warminster, Wilts., became one of the first English emigrants to Pennsylvania. Like most of the first generation of Anglo-Philadelphians, the Mifflins were members of the Society of Friends, and over the course of the next few decades, his became one of Philadelphia's most prominent commercial families. The Mifflin family papers consist of a large family's business and personal correspondence over several generations. The bulk of the material concerns two branches of the Mifflin family, the children and grandchildren of George Mifflin, son of John (1661-1714) and the children of another of John's sons, John.
Extent:
196 items (0.5 linear feet)
Language:
English
Authors:
Collection processed and finding aid created by Rob S. Cox, June 1994

Background

Scope and Content:

The Mifflin family papers consist of the scattered remains of a large family's business and personal correspondence over several generations. The bulk of the material concerns two branches of the Mifflin family, the children and grandchildren of George Mifflin, son of John (1661-1714) and the children of another of John's sons, John. Both branches were affluent, well-educated, and politically involved, and although the collection is somewhat scattered, it is a useful collection for the study of family relations in southeastern Pennsylvania during the late 18th and early 19th century and the history of the Society of Friends. The collection also includes miscellaneous deeds, wills, bills, and other sundry items relating to the Mifflins between their arrival in America in the 1680s and the mid-19th century.

The names George, John, Jonathan, and Joseph were repeatedly used by every branch of the family. As a result, in the cataloging of the Mifflin Family papers, birth and death dates have been applied only when identities seem reasonably certain, and even at that, these should be viewed with caution.

Among the most interesting letters from the descendents of George Mifflin are the several letters of and relating to Charles Mifflin. As a record of a young man struggling against adverse circumstances and seeking to establish himself in life, the letters provide excellent documentation of mid-18th century Quaker attitudes toward the maturation into adulthood, familial responsibilities, and parental expectations. But the highlight of Charles' letters is a fine description of a love feast at the Ephrata cloister, 1769, where Charles had gone to learn German and thereby improve his prospects in the business world.

Four letters include information on the Revolutionary War. Two of Joseph Mifflin's letters (1776 July 14 and 22) provide accounts on the early phases of the war in Reading, Pa., the popular reaction, and the mobilization of troops. In a letter to John Mifflin written on August 24, 1777, Joseph Mayo relays rumors that William Howe is intending to land at the head of the Chesapeake to wage a campaign on Philadelphia, and adds wryly, "I hope that British Savages will be glad to get off with themselves long before it is in their Power to throw once more the Philadelphia Ladies into a disagreeable anxiety about the Fate of their Place of Abode." John Weston's letter of July 7, 1780, includes news that the women of the Baltimore Friends Meeting had agreed to knit stockings for the Continental Army. The post-war attitudes of two old foes are outlined in two letters written in 1784 and 1785 by Richard Hergest, a former seaman in the Royal Navy, to Capt. Henry W. Archer. Hergest and Archer appear simply to have agreed not to discuss politics in order to rekindle their once close friendship.

The most important items in the Mifflin papers are the two letters from Warner Mifflin, which provide important glimpses into the moral universe of the idiosyncratic Delaware abolitionist and reformer. The first of these letters, written by Mifflin to Nicholas Waln in December, 1780, includes an extended account of a dream that Mifflin had in which he saw Waln's corpse rise from the dead to admit that Mifflin had been right after all in his refusal to accept Continental currency or to pay war taxes. Mifflin also expresses serious concern over Waln's spiritual state (a remarkable fact, considering Waln's spotless reputation in the Quaker community), and discusses his famous visit to George Washington's camp to try to dissuade the General from pursuing his war-like ways.

In his second letter, dated 1783 July 16, Mifflin considers the case of the notorious China Clows, condemned to be executed for murder. Although Mifflin considered Clows to be a "bad man," he remained rigidly true to his pacifism in opposing Clows' execution.

John Houston Mifflin's fourteen letters were mostly written while he was working as a semi-itinerant portrait painter in Augusta, Ga., 1835-1839. They provide details on the social and artistic life in Georgia, descriptions of Augusta itself, and a few brief discussions of John's aspirations as an artist and attempts to establish his reputation. The collection includes three rough pencil portraits by Mifflin of his recently deceased brother, James.

Finally, the collection includes one letter of the well-known woman physician, Susannah Wright (Houston), and one letter (from her granddaughter, Deborah Ann) about her. In the letter from Susannah Wright to her husband, John, she describes an ailment she has contracted from drinking warm water and her efforts to treat herself. Three medical receipts, included in a separate folder at the end of the collection, may also have been issued by Susannah Wright.

Biographical / Historical:

In 1679, John Mifflin of Warminster, Wilts., became one of the first English emigrants to Pennsylvania, settling at an estate now situated in Philadelphia's Fairmont Park that he called Fountain Green. Like most of the first generation of Anglo-Philadelphians, the Mifflins were members of the Society of Friends, and over the course of the next few decades, his became one of Philadelphia's most prominent commercial families, intermarrying and forming business partnerships with the Masseys, Shippens, Walns, Fishbournes and other members of the Quaker elite. Included among the descendants of John Mifflin are the long-time Governor of Pennsylvania and Revolutionary War general, Thomas Mifflin, the Quaker reformer and anti-slavery activist, Warner Mifflin, and the artist/writers John Houston Mifflin and Lloyd Mifflin.

Though eminently successful in business, the Mifflins suffered their share of misfortunes. George Mifflin, Jr., a grandson of the emigrant John, died shortly after marrying Ann Eyre, who herself had been orphaned before the age of eight. During their brief marriage, the couple had only one child, Charles. After Ann's remarriage, Charles went to the Ephrata Cloister to learn German, and thereby improve his business prospects, and soon arranged for an apprenticeship with a Boston merchant. By the time of the Revolution, his prospects were improving steadily. A confident and able young man, his business career no doubt received a boost by his marriage in 1777 to Polly Waln, a close relative of Nicholas Waln and child of the wealthy Waln family. Further, like most of his family, Charles cast his lot with the winning side during the Revolution, though unlike his cousin Thomas, he refused to renounce his Quaker principles to become an active participant. Unfortunately, Charles' good fortune did not last. He died suddenly in 1783, leaving his widow to cope with four young children. Topping off tragedy with tragedy, two of these children died in the Philadelphia yellow fever epidemic of 1793.

Another branch of the Mifflin family, through John Mifflin's son, John, also met with financial success mixed with family misfortune. John (1720-1798), grandson of the emigrant John, became immensely wealthy through partnerships with relatives and other Quaker families, operating in the import and export trade to the West Indies and Britain. With income from land speculation and with holdings of property in the Philadelphia area, Lancaster County, and as far west as the Susquehanna River, John was able to establish his three sons, John, Jonathan, and Joseph in a successful three-way commercial partnership of their own, and his daughter, Rebecca, found wealth and prominence through her marriage to Henry W. Archer, adjutant to Anthony Wayne during the Revolution. Marriages were fortunate for this branch of the Mifflin family tree: John was said to have married the only daughter of a very wealthy man, while Jonathan married into the Wright family, some of the earliest settlers in Lancaster County.

At about the time of the Revolution, Joseph and Jonathan Mifflin moved to Lancaster County, with Joseph settling in Columbia. There, he married Deborah Richardson with whom he had at least three children: Joseph, Jr. (married Martha Houston, daughter of Dr. John Houston, a Continental Army surgeon), Lloyd (an official of the Bank of the United States), and Deborah. The death of Joseph Mifflin, Sr., in 1791, resulted in an acrimonious dispute over the estate that temporarily sundered good relations within the family.

Among Joseph, Jr.'s children were at least two sons: John Houston and James H. John Houston Mifflin, who tried his hand in the art world, traveling to Georgia in 1835 in an effort to establish himself as a portrait painter. He returned briefly to Philadelphia (1836-37), but in December, 1837, made another attempt to establish himself in Augusta. James accompanied John to Augusta on his first trip, but was not notably successful in his efforts to run a store. He may have been a bit of a cad, at least by reputation, but after his return to Pennsylvania, he became a successful promoter of internal works and was involved in the explosive growth of the Antimasonic Party in Pennsylvania during the mid-1830s.

Acquisition Information:
1991, 2001. M-2722.1, M-4170.1 .
Rules or Conventions:
Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Contents

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Download PDF Finding Aid
RESTRICTIONS:

The collection is open for research.

USE & PERMISSIONS:

Copyright status is unknown.

PREFERRED CITATION:

Mifflin Family Papers, William L. Clements Library, The University of Michigan.

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Collection

Mifflin family papers, 1689-1877
Total components 3
Last indexed 2024-11-04